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St. Andrew's-Wesley Homelessness and Mental Health Action Group: A Dollar-A-Day to Help End Homelessness

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Oct. 14, 2009) – End Homelessness Now is launching a dollar-a-day donation campaign designed to help meet the goal of ending homelessness in Metro Vancouver.

Simply providing a roof over the head of someone who is chronically homeless is not enough. To be successful in the long term and to keep these individuals from going back onto the streets, housing must include support services such as counselling, addiction and clinical services. Research has shown that supportive housing implemented in other cities such as Calgary, Toronto, Portland and New York, has an 85 percent track record of success.

"To provide the resources needed to address the issue of homelessness in Vancouver costs less than it does to leave people in the streets. It's about common decency and common sense," stated Jae Kim, President, Streetohome Foundation.

St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church has joined with other faith-based community groups around the Lower Mainland to help raise the funds needed to provide supportive housing for people experiencing chronic homelessness. Our goal is to collectively raise $500,000 per year to donate to the Streetohome Foundation to provide supportive housing to the people that call the streets their home.

"For just a dollar-a-day - or less than the cost of a cup of coffee – you can make a positive contribution to ending homelessness in Vancouver through the construction of more supportive housing," says Don Evans, Co-Chair, Homelessness and Mental Health Action Group of St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church.

The Streetohome Foundation is a community-based organization working to ensure that all citizens in Vancouver have access to safe, decent and affordable housing. Streetohome brings together a consortium of business and community leaders from all sectors to collectively develop solutions for homelessness. Collaboration is the key to success. For more information, please visit www.streetohome.org.